The day did not start off so well, at least, not for the butler. Edward's butler came in to wake him after only two hours of sleep. Despite the butler's urgings that Edward would be late, Edward insisted on being difficult by first saying he couldn't shower without a cigarette first then not being able to dress unless he had another cigarette. Following a painfully slow dress routine Edward said he needed another cigarette at which point the butler dropped his boots and mumbled something about seeing to breakfast being brought up to Edward's room, slamming the door on his way out.
Edward knew the butler would have been given instructions to see that Edward would be ready, and presentable, at a certain time for the town-car to pick him up for the parade, but Edward was not in a cooperative mood, especially if the instructions came from Mustang. Fuhrer Mustang, Edward corrected himself sarcastically thinking of Gracia correcting him about Mustang's proper title the night before. Thinking of Gracia made him think of Elysia and he refused to go over that subject once again considering it had left him with a long day ahead of him with only a couple of hours of sleep to get him through it. But he was unable to chase those thoughts away of Elysia so when the butler came with his breakfast he refused to eat and only sipped some coffee and smoked another cigarette as he stood outside on his balcony breathing the fresh air. A knock on the door and the maid's voice informing the butler that the town-car was there for Edward made him realize he needed another cigarette before he could leave. As the butler was literally pushing Edward down the stairs towards the front door Edward remembered that he conveniently forgot his pocket watch and said he had to go back upstairs to get it. The butler refused to get out of Edward's way and produced the forgotten pocket watch and clipped it to Edward's military coat with a smug look of triumph at finally outsmarting his master. Edward looked down at the older gentleman and couldn't help but smile back in defeat. They had played this game so many times throughout the years it was becoming harder for Edward to think up new ways to out-think the old man.
"So good of you to join me Fullmetal," the Fuhrer said as Edward sauntered casually as he came to stand next to Roy Mustang, Fuhrer of Amestris and the cause of almost all of Edward's annoyance. "I really hope it's not too much of an inconvenience for you to stand alongside me as one of my Generals should."
"You should know the answer to that," Edward said as he stood next to the Fuhrer and put a cigarette in his mouth. Before he could reach for his lighter he saw a white gloved hand appear in front of his face, the fingers snapped and his cigarette lit.
Edward smiled. "So you are good for something."
"Just put it out before the people see you," Mustang said putting his hand in his pocket to slip his glove off.
"Like they don't know the great General Elric doesn't have a few bad habits," Edward said. He looked sideways at the Fuhrer. He was hoping for some sign of irritation by the remark in return for Edward having to put up with the ridiculousness of the parade, which just made Edward feel like a fool and a prized possession of the Fuhrer's that was brought out on special occasions for people to admire.
"It's easily overlooked if it doesn't get too out of control."
Edward stared at Mustang. Something wasn't right. Normally the Fuhrer would express great dislike and would reprimand Edward for the way he chose to spend his off time at taverns drinking and gambling. But he noticed unusually dark circles under Roy's eyes and he seemed strained, like he was carrying a great burden. He wondered if it had something to do with the tensions in Xing between some Ishbalan refugees who had been settled there for the last fifteen years. There had been no reports of any attacks between the natives of Xing and the Ishbalan's but pressure was high, particularly in a small town in the western province of Xing, called Chenxing, that was known for it's very religious rigidity that even the ruling clan of Xing found hard to govern. The Ishbalan's thought they had found a place where they could live and worship peacefully in a town that had similar ideas though of a different religion. It was bound to happen, after fifteen years of living side by side that young Ishbalan's would fall in love with Xing natives and vice versa with the result being angry parents and religious leaders feeling the combined religions in a family would start a slow and steady deterioration of each religion's ideals. That they would mix and create a whole new religious branch and each religion's "leaders" were not thrilled of the idea of losing future impressionable young minds to "nurture" and "cultivate".
"What's wrong with you?" Edward finally asked as they stood in silence for several seconds. Roy didn't answer right away.
"I'm sure you've heard," Mustang finally said as the float they were standing on lurched forward and began the slow crawl through the streets of Central where the sidewalks would be jammed packed with the people of Amestris, filled with many who had traveled long hours to catch a glimpse of the Fuhrer and the Fullmetal Alchemist.
"You mean the Ishbalan settlers in Xing?" Edward asked going along with his first gut feeling to explain Mustang's stressed out appearance.
"Yes," Roy sighed wanting to talk over the situation with his best General. "There have been reports of religious rebels attacking Ishbalan places of worship. But this is not the time or place to discuss it. It'll have to wait till all of today's festivities are over."
"You could cancel the ball tonight," Edward suggested trying to be helpful, though, mostly for his own benefit. He wasn't looking forward to having to remain tightly encased in his dress uniform for several more hours.
"You'd love that wouldn't you," Mustang said smiling for the first time. "No, everything will go as planned today. The situation doesn't directly involve all of Amestris but the Ishbalan's were promised equal protection as citizens no matter where they are so we still need to be involved with the matter in Xing." Mustang sighed then perked up a bit and forced a smile and began waving as the first of the crowds came into view as the parade float turned a corner.
"Well, just don't send me over. I've had enough with religious zealots," Edward muttered through his fake smile.
"Of course you would be my first choice," the Fuhrer muttered back still waving. "You have plenty of experience," he said sarcastically looking at Edward. Edward rolled his eyes and continued looking ahead, trying to look as if he liked standing on a parade float in the hot sun wearing an even hotter military suit.
Elysia and her mother had refused the Fuhrer's invitation to ride on the float. It was one thing to be supported by the Fuhrer with the generous allowance that had been given to both women but neither felt the obligation to stand alongside the Fuhrer as the wife and daughter of a long dead war hero. They were both grateful for the fact that they did not have to obey orders as those in the military had too and were relieved of the embarrassment of being paraded as part of the Fuhrer's trophy collection. But Elysia did get up early to catch a glimpse of Edward in his dress uniform looking utterly uncomfortable. Try as she might, she still couldn't stop thinking about Edward so she was trying a new tactic. To allow her thoughts to resume their obsession till she grew tired of him. It's only because I've just arrived in town and he's the first handsome guy I've seen so far. After the ball tonight he'll just return to being Uncle Edward, she thought hoping the distraction of other officers would clear her head of Edward.
She stood on the balcony that overlooked the main street. The street contained the townhouses of several military officers and their families, politicians, other wealthy Central inhabitants as well as Edwards own home two doors down and Elysia and her mother. They rarely used the place since her mother preferred her other house in the country and Elysia had spent most of her time in ladies boarding schools. The townhouse with it's balcony facing the main street offered the perfect view of the parade as it made it's painfully slow progress down the street. Elysia could come and go as she pleased and not have to wind her way through the crowded sidewalk that made it impossible to leave their home as the parade was in progress.
To pass the time till the Fuhrer and Edward's float came by Elysia spent it sketching various people in different states of activities. She was in the middle of sketching a little boy pulling his sister's braid when she happened to look up to see the anticipated float. Seeing Edward in his dress uniform was worth the wait. Elysia began to sketch furiously not forgetting to add the detail of his medals that hung proudly, though knowing Edward, embarrassingly as well, from his chest. She made a mental note to make sure she teased him about the medals when she saw him at the ball later that night. Looking up from her sketch pad she found that she too was being observed closely though Edward was more likely to be sketching her in his mind than on a sheet of paper. She smiled and waved at him and received the same gesture in return. She stood watching him admiring how good he looked in his uniform and noting how he stood a couple inches taller than the Fuhrer and how much better he looked with short hair. She remembered how he used to keep it long and as a young girl he would let her brush it. But the short hair definitely worked for him and she really liked how the sun reflected off his golden hair and that it hadn't darkened as he got older as her own did. She had been born with light hair but as she got older it darkened to the color of her father's. Yes, there were many things Elysia was admiring about Edward as he passed by on the parade float. To keep from looking like a fool staring so much she pointed towards her chest then at him. Edward understood the gesture and looked down at his medals. He had tried hiding the damn things many times but his butler would retrieve them even when Edward had buried them in the back yard using alchemy. But somehow the butler always brought them back safe and sound.
Edward smirked, looked over at Mustang and rolled his eyes. From Elysia's vantage point she saw the roll of the eyes clearly and laughed. She continued watching Edward as he continued watching her, at least, as far as he could keep his neck turned without turning his entire body. Roy, noticing Edward's attention still focused behind him turned around to see what Edward was looking at. Roy caught a quick glimpse of Elysia standing at the balcony and thought he saw her staring back at Edward as well. He looked back to give Edward a curious look. But his General didn't noticed when he finally had to focus ahead of him as they turned another corner taking Elysia completely out of sight. Mustang also began to sense something different from Edward. He seemed to be in a better mood and kept a smile on his face through the rest of the parade like he actually enjoyed being there.
The remainder of the day was spent strolling through the multitude of craft and food booths set up in the grounds within the park that had been developed in the middle of Central. The Fuhrer officially began the festival by stopping at the entrance of the park after the parade for the ribbon cutting ceremony. The Fuhrer's fifteenth anniversary celebration had been designated as the parks official opening day and the citizen's of Central finally got the opportunity to see what the results were of over a year of transplanting trees and the planting of small flower gardens that had been cultivated produced. People were awed and excited to stroll through the park. Many didn't get to enjoy nature very often since it was only enjoyed outside of Central. The park had been a very highly anticipated addition to making Central worthy of being the center of Amestris' government and symbolized the country's growth in peace and prosperity.
Edward was very impressed by the park. He only wished he was able to enjoy it alone without having to tag along with the Fuhrer. The Fuhrer only had six other people besides Edward in his company. They were General Armstrong, Colonel Havoc, Chief of Security Riza Hawkeye, another General along with two representatives from Liore and Ishbal. But wherever the Fuhrer's group went a dozen security officers would be continuously keeping citizens from getting too excited about seeing in person several heroes of Amestris not to mention the Fuhrer himself walking around speaking with everyone. They casually strolled past booths of local merchants and artists. Edward couldn't resist stopping at one booth to purchase several hand-made toys for his nephew's and niece's. The artist, who had refused any payment from the great Fullmetal Alchemist, discovered that when he sat down he felt a rather uncomfortable lump in his back pocket. Investigating produced a large wad of bills that had not been there before the Fullmetal Alchemist had stopped by.